Facebook introduces new tools to combat cyber bullying and harassment

The tools are available for desktop and Android users. iOS users will get them soon.

Facebook may have begun as a platform for people to get (and stay) in touch with each other, but over the years, the social media network has evolved into something far bigger. This growth, however, hasn’t come without controversies. The company’s questionable security policies became a target of US government’s scrutiny after the Cambridge Analytica scandal surfaced earlier this year, and a recent breach is said to have left the personal data of as many as 50 million Facebook users exposed.

But long before all of this, unscrupulous individuals have been using Facebook as a platform for bullying and harassing people, especially minors. To combat those issues, the social networking major has announced a bunch of online tools.

Recognizing that majority of bullying happens through comments, Facebook has introduced the ability to hide or delete multiple comments at once. This can be done via a post’s options menu. The feature has begun rolling out for desktop and Android users, and will be available to iOS users in the coming months.

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Facebook will now also allow other users to report instances of online bullying or harassment. Once reported, the service’s Community Operations team will review the post to determine whether it violates Facebook’s community standards. Users will be able to appeal Facebook’s decisions on cases involving bullying/harassment as well.

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In order to protect public figures from online attacks, Facebook won’t allow any posts that directly engage a public figure.

Lastly, the social networking giant announced partnerships with experts and community organizations around the world to tackle online harassment.